This event will feature sharing circles on relationship building across Indigenous and other racialized communities.

Do you identify as racialized and/or Indigenous? Do you think building relationships among our communities is important?

This sharing circle will be an opportunity for us to respectfully discuss:

What work have you have or your organizations done to build healthy relationships across our communities?

Why is this work important?

What are some of the challenges of working across our communities? What are the rewards?

What are our roles and responsibilities to each other on Turtle Island?

Short presentations by:

Seven Directions: a Turtle Island-based community of Indigenous peoples and those who support Indigenous efforts to protect our respective lands and land-based cultures. We are committed to working towards these goals in Turtle Island (The Americas), and globally.

R3 Artists’ Collective - R3: (Roots Rhythms Resistance) is an artists’ collective recovering indigenous roots and resisting colonial oppression through music, dance, visual art and theatre for and by marginalized peoples, with a particular focus on Queer Indigenous and Queer communities of colour. R3's main initiative currently is a series of educational, fundraising events that provide a platform for socially conscious artists to collaborate with one another, showcase their work, and utilize art itself as a vehicle for decolonization and political intervention. Funds raised are divided between the African Reparations Fund and Turtle Island Reparations Fund, to support decolonization work in Africa and North America.

Robert Massoud, Beit Zatoun: Robert is a Palestinian-Canadian born in Jerusalem and immigrated to Canada with his family at age six. In spring 2004, he founded Zatoun as a registered non-profit, volunteer organization with a goal to build a direct bridge between Palestine and North America using olive oil to serve as a symbol of light, hope and peace. Robert was awarded the 2004/05 YMCA Peace Medallion for Toronto by the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Zatoun was selected as a 2007 finalist for the "Leonardo daVinci Award for Creativity & Innovation" in the community category (creativityday.ca).

Russell Diabo will be discussing big picture of the war against First Nations in Canada. He will discuss the challenges of getting rid of the Indian Act and having section 35 & the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) Articles recognized and respected for Inherent, Aboriginal & Treaty Rights implementation.

Pamela Palmater will discuss her recent work analyzing Bill S-2, regarding matrimonial property rights on reserve, which, as she writes, “will have a significant impact not only on the nature and legal status of reserve lands generally, but specifically in relation to who can hold, occupy, use and benefit from reserve lands.” Palmater has learned that this bill could lead to the elimination of many bands in Canada over the next 75 years.

(Chair) Sylvia Plain, Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Water Walker

Russell Diabo, Policy Consultant for the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, Editor and Publisher of the First Nations Strategic Bulletin

Pamela Palmater, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Governance, Ryerson University

Randy Kapashesit, Chief of the MoCreebec Council of the Cree Nation

More speakers to be announced shortly.

* This space is accessible. Please contact iswtoronto@gmail.com to arrange for access to elevators from the side building entrance. We will also have people on hand to accommodate drop-ins throughout the event.

Tuesday, November 22nd

12:00-3:00 pm

@ York University, Room 242, York Lanes.

Deconstructing Identity Barriers: Aboriginal Women’s Sharing Circle

Facilitated by Erin Konsmo

As Aboriginal women, we experience challenges unique to our cultural identity and sexuality on a constant and public basis. We believe that these challenges compromise achieving indigenous sovereignty for our Nations. Our sharing circle seeks to bring forth personal experiences of identity barriers by articulating our opinions in a group setting, addressing the fear of further marginalization and by critically challenging the public value of the “expert’s” perspective over our own. We acknowledge the power imbalances that are unique to Aboriginal women and our objective is to formulate individualized strategies to empower each other, as Aboriginal women, in the deconstruction of identity barriers and in constructing of ourselves.

Please note that our facilitator is not equipped to counsel individual cases of trauma.

Join us for a presentation on the historical and contemporary practices ofcolonization of the Haldimand Tract. Leading Six Nations land rightsResearcher, Phil Monture, will map out tactics through which people of SixNations have been dispossessed of their land. Monture will also highlightthe the colonial and racist processes of stealing the part of the land wenow recognize as York University. Presentation will be followed by aninteractive discussion, and an introduction to the work of CUPE 3903 FirstNations Solidarity Working Group.

7:00 p.m.

@Ryerson Student Centre (55 Gould St.) room: SCC 115

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug(KI) Speak About Their Struggle to Protect Scared Areas From Mining Exploration

KI Chief Donny Morris

John Cutfeet, Spokesperson

In 2008 Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) Chief Donny Morris went to jail for refusing to allow mining exploration his community feared would contaminate their water supply. The remote First Nation community succeeded in fighting off mining exploration by Platinex, but now a gold exploration company has staked claims directly on top of sacred KI burials. Ontario continues to violate KI’s right to say ‘no’ to mining exploration on their Homeland.

KI First Nation has governed and cared for the Homeland, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Aaki, that is at the core of their culture since time before memory. This vast area of boreal lakes, rivers, forests, and wetlands provides KI’s pristine water supply, the lake trout the community rely upon, and their sacred landscape. KI has a vision for the future of their lands and environment that benefits both KI and all life.

Join us in this rare opportunity to hear directly from KI leaders about their struggle to control and care for their Homeland.

Wednesday, November 23

7pm – 9pm

Location: University of Toronto Schools Auditorium, 371 Bloor Street West (between Spadina and Huron). Accessible entrance west of main doors.

This event will present- an overview of the context of the Indigenous arts of the Americas, to exemplify the similarities amongst colonial, capitalist, imperial, neo-liberal strategies, that have acted as a type of “disease” amongst our communities.

The intent of this event, is predicated by the idea that by sharing our stories in text, art and audio, we may recognize each other and begin to unify; in solidarity –to honor the diversity amongst our memories, as we work towards building an Indigenous encyclopedia of emancipatory strategies.

special thanks to Terrance Houle for generously allowing us to borrow his image titled "Trails End / End Trails"

note-Indigenous art work- contains so much more, than what will be discussed here-for the purposes of Indigenous Sovereignty Week

**** WARNING ****** the presentation contains graphic images and the portrayal of tragic events-but will end-with a balanced discussion of POSITIVE Participation, a discussion of healing and dreaming, faith in future possibilities

Presenters / Facilitation-Tannis Nielsen and Zainab Amadahy

Saturday November 26

3:00pm-6:00pm

GREAT INDIAN BUS TOUR ***SOLD OUT***

Come out with Philip Cote and Jon Johnson, members of the Toronto Native History Project and learn about the Indigenous history of Toronto - the meeting place where people once gathered at the fish weirs. Finish the day with a delicious feast at the Native Canadian Centre hosted by Muskrat Magazine and the launch of its Food Issue! Tickets $20

6:00pm - 8:30pm

Muskrat Magazine Launch

@Native Canadian Centre of Toronto

In the spirit of community building and honouring our relationship to land and sustenance MUSKRAT Magazine, The Toronto Native Community History Project, Indigenous Sovereignty Week, ANDPVA and The Accidental Caterer invite you to feast with us!!

BRING a "Traditional" dish to share (WHATEVER TRADITIONAL MEANS TO YOU- it may be featured in our next food issue!)

nibi anishinabe kwewag: Water and the Women of the First Peoples combines LauraLee Harris’ own poems with her paintings on wood.

“I work on wood using the grains to bring out imagery, and from this intuitive work I find meaning from the symbols that present themselves from an anishinabe cultural perspective and these works are put into words,” says Harris.

The exhibit shares how the Anishinaabekwewag made a promise to their Creator, in the beginning of Creation, to care for the water connected to the orb of life within them. Now the water is being poisoned and over 580 Anishinaabe women in Canada are missing or murdered.

“It is through the trees I paint on that I hope to educate and raise awareness to the life forces we were given, that the anishinabe have been protecting for over thirty thousand years, striving to keep the life from being destroyed.”

BACKGROUND & REQUEST FOR SUPPORT

For the third year in a row Defenders of the Land (DoL) has issued a call to First Nations / Indigenous communities and supporters across Canada to host a week of events celebrating Indigenous Sovereignty.

The purpose of Indigenous Sovereignty Week is to gather with the intention of building local relationships among groups and individuals around the dissemination of ideas of Indigenism as well as to contribute to building a cross-Canada movement for Indigenous rights, self-determination and justice that is led by Indigenous communities but with a broad base of informed support.

The theme for ISW 2011 is Celebrating Community Victories - Standing up to the Harper Threat.

In response to this call the Toronto ISW Council has planned a week of events and invites organizations and groups across the GTA to host join us, to make this year the best year ever. You can also support us in the following ways:

(1) PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Most of our funds are dedicated to providing gifts to Elders and traditional performers. Please support the organizing by sending cheques payable to "Indigenous Sovereignty and Solidarity Network" to 1034 College St W., Toronto, ON, M6H 1A9.

(2) VOLUNTEER: If you are able to poster, help do event setup or clean up, please email iswtoronto@gmail.com. Please write ‘volunteer’ in the subject line and you will be contacted closer to the date.

(3) ENDORSE: Please endorse the event and forward announcements to your membership. Just email iswtoronto@gmail.com with ‘endorsement’ in the subject line.

Toronto ISW Council adheres to the process of governance and other principles outlined in the “The Defenders of the Land - Basis of Unity” which can be found at http://www.defendersoftheland.org/about.

Non-Indigenous supporters / “allies” may wish to familiarize themselves with “The Supporters -Basis of Unity” found at http://www.defendersoftheland.org/supporters.